Wrecking truck boom support



A. F. HEINSS 'WRECKING TRUCK BOOM, SUPPORT Filed Nov. 5. 1946 VENTOR,

ATTORNEYS.

Patented Oct. 5, 1948 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE WRECKING TRUCK BOOM SUPPORT Arthur F. Heinss, Cincinnati, Ohio Application November 5, 1946, Serial No. 707,952

4 Claims. (Cl. 214 86) My invention relates to frames for reinforcing and supporting the peak end of the boom in wrecking trucks.

In several Well-known makes of wrecking trucks, or as they are called in the trade Wreckers, an automobile body has mounted on the frame back of the drivers seat cab, a split A-type boom pivoted at the front end of the body. The boom arms extend upwardly and at an angle toward the back of the body where the boom end or peak normally projects beyond the.

rear end of the body. The elevation of the boom is adjustable by means of lines or cables which pass over a sheave in the peak and the tension of which is adjusted by means of a winch normally operated by a crank.

- When the wrecker lifts a load, such as a wrecked truck or trailer, cables which run through sheaves at the peak of the boom are attached to the load, and the load is lifted by means of a power winch mounted on the body of the truck.

As is apparent from the above description, if the load is very heavy, the downward pull on the end or peak of the boom is extremely great. Inasmuch as the lifting action in a wrecker of this type is fulcrumed on the rear walls of the wrecker, which are usually quite a distance forward of the peak of the boom, it is only the weight of the truck at its point of center of gravity multiplied by the power arm of the lever represented by the distance of the trucks center of gravity forwardly from the rear wheels as related to the weight of the load multiplied by the weight arm represented by the horizontal distance of the boom peak rearwardly of the rear wheels, which prevents the truck from turning over backwardly.

F ,From the above it is apparent that a truck of the above type may not lift loads over a certain predetermined weight.

It is an object of my invention to provide an auxiliary support for the peak of the boom which permits a. relatively light truck to lift an extremely heavy weight and far beyond the weight liftable without the use of my support.

It is a further object of my invention to provide. a supporting frame for the peak of the boom which has attached thereto a hoist which permits a definite mechanical advantage in the hoist of the truck and permits the power winch lifting the load to raise up a far greater weight than is mechanically possible without my hoist.

A further object of my invention is to provide a supporting frame .for the peak of the boom having all of the above advantages, but which is rugged and strong and relatively inexpensive to make, and which may be easily carried by the wrecker when in transit and removed or detached from the wrecker body and placed in position when the wrecker is lifting a heavy load.

These and other objects of my invention, which will be set forth hereinafter or will be apparent to one skilled in the art upon reading these specifications, I accomplish by that certain construction and arrangement of parts, of which I shall now describe an exemplary embodiment. Reference is made to the drawings which form a part hereof and in which: g

Figure 1 is a side elevation of awrecker using my novel support in the lifting of a heavy trailer body.

Figure 2 is an end elevation of the body of the wrecker showing my novel auxiliary mountedon the wrecker for carrying.

Figure 3 is a side elevation support shown in Figure 2.

Figure 4 is a rear elevation of the peak of my auxiliary support showing the sheaves in load lifting position.

Figure 5 is a cross-section taken on the section line 55 of Figure 4.

Figure 6 is a detailed view of the anti-slipping or spacing bar attachment for auxiliary support shown in Figure 1.

Briefly, in the practice of my invention, I provide a support in the shape of anA frame with the peak attached to the peak of the boom and with the base, when in operation, resting on the ground. The lifting line for the load runs through a block and tackle hoist, one end of which is attached to the frame and the other to the load, thus providing a mechanical advantage between the force exerted by the winch and the force applied to the load. The block and tackle hoist is made up of sheaves and hooks in such a manner that it may be attached to the load to provide the. above described. mechanical advantage or may be attached to the load so as to eliminate the mechanical advantage for use with very light loads. The auxiliary support is attached to the peak of the boom on the wrecker and when the wrecker is in transit, is lifted up by the boom peak and removably attached to the rear of the body of the wrecker. V p f Referring to the drawings, in Figure 1 the rear end of the wrecker body I has mounted pivotally thereon, behind the cab 2, a boom 3. The boom 3 is normally of the A-type comprising two indiof the auxiliary vidual booms and terminatingin a peakll. The

peak usually has two boom elevating sheaves 5 journaled thereon, as shown in Figure 1. The boom elevating mechanism comprises a winch 6 operated by a crank and operating a line 1 which runs from the winch 6 over the sheave 5 forwardly and over a sheave 8 which is fastened to a brace behind the cab of the structure, rearwardly to the peak of the boom 4 where it is made fast. From this itis apparent that when the winch 6 is. operated to play out or take in theline 1, the angle of the boom 3 will be varied, and the peak 4 will be moved upwardly or downwardly.

My auxiliary support for the peak 4 of the boom 3 comprises an A-shaped: frame 9' havin a relatively heavy ground block 10.. whilelhave shown the frame of the support as A-shaped, this is no limitation on my invention since other shapes may be preferred. However, inv my exemplary embodiment, the sides of the frame are formed. of. angle irons bolted together with a relatively heavy strap. at the peak or top. H, sandwiched therebetween. Atthe peak ll of my auxiliary support, I provide atleast. one sheave. l2. In the exemplary embodiment shown, l have, illustrated two. sets. of sheaves l2, since. I preferably provide two, separate. hoists operated by separate winches Thev sheaves l1 are. mounted on the peak ll of my frame: by means of forked. journals I13 which are permanently attached to. the peak ll of the frame. I. preferably so. mount the forked journals as to permit relative verticaL movement between them and the peak H of my frame, limited, however, as. shownin Figures. 2. and 4..

The sheaves l2 are also incorporated into. thepeak; 4 of. the boom 3, (see. Figures, 3 and 5).

Whenmy framev is in use, it is lowered. to the ground, as shown in Figure, l, by. manipulating the. angle of the boom 3. and'. so that the sheavesl2 will be directly supportedv by the-peak ll of my auxiliary support, the basev ll] of which rests upon the; ground.

A block and tackle hoist is attached to, my supporting frame and consists of. a sheave. 14 to which is attached a hook l5 and. a sheave l6 either permanently fastened to the peak ll of my frame or hooked thereto, as shown. in, Figure 2.. The tackle line l9 runs from at power which ll mounted on the wrecker through. appropriate sheaves and over the. sheave l2, around the sheave l4, around'the sheave l6, and. terminates ma hook l& which. is fastened to, its free end.

When: my auxiliary supporting frame; is in use, I preferably mount thereon a spacing bar or antieslipping bar 20. I preferably apply two. such bars, one associated with each side of theirame 9. The bars 20- terminate in a forked clamp 2!, which may be positioned and clamped to: the sides of the frame 9 and the other end of which terminates in either afoot 21, which rests against the ground. or an. abutment which may be positioned against the load. Inthe exemplary embodiment shown, I have provided a series of. holes 22 in the angle iron forming the sides of my frame- 9; and a screw bolt 23. associated witht e clamp M. .Thispermits the mounting of the spacing bars by slipping the clamp 2,! over the Web ll of the angle iron forming the sides and screwing the bolt 23 in the selected hole '22..

When the wrecker is in transit, my supporting frame is carriedby the peak 4 of the boom 3, which is elevated to lift the base 10 of the frame off the ground. In order to prevent swinging. of

thef-framal". preferably chain the frame to the rear of the wrecker by chains 24., and the QQK 7 4 i8 and [5 associated with the block and tackle hoist are inserted under staples 25 mounted in the base ID. This prevents the device from rattling around and it is shown in this position in Figures 2 and 3.

The operation of my auxiliary frame in taking the load is as follows. The wrecker is backed up to the load, which in the drawings is depicted by the trailer body 25. The chains. 24 are removed permitting: the. frame 9 to,v hang from the peak 4 of the boom 3. The boom 3 is lowered by the use of the winch 6 until the base ID of the frame 9, rests upon the ground to the rear of the wrecker. With a very heavy load, such as a loaded trailer body 26, hooks l5 and I8 are removed from the staples" 25 and attached to the load 26. Spacer or anti-slipping bars '26 are placed in position both to assist in supporting the frame 9 and to prevent the load 26 from riding up and against the. frame 9 as, it is raised.

In order to. raise the load 26, the power winch or winches H is started, which takes upon, the hoist, line if], Inasmuch as both hooks l8and, [5 are attached to the load 26, while the other sheave. i5 carrying the line 19 remains attached'to the peak H of the frame 9,, the combination of the sheaves l6, l4 and 12' acts as a block and tackle hoist. having av mechanical advantage of; 3.-to-1 and the great proportion. of the weight of the load 26 is borne by the vertical, auxiliary frame 9, Which. in turn is supported on the ground.

In.- the event that. the load 26. is relatively light. and a mechanical advantage of 3-to-1 is not. necessary or desired, hook it} alone is fastened to the load and hook, 15 remains in the staple 2.5 attached to the bottom in of the frame, 9. In this case, the. winch, l1 will have a direct pull on the. load 26 and there will be no mechanical advantage incorporated in the hoist.

While I have shown a hoist, with a mechanical advantage of. 3, which may be so attached to the load as to change the mechanical. advantage, I do. not intend to. limit, myself to a, hoist with a mechanical advantage. of 3,-to-l, since I may use more sheaves which would result in a higher mechanical advantage.

It is to be understood that, the boom 3 may be of a different type from that shown and may be mounted differently from that shown upon the wrecker. It may be, designed so as to project to the side of. the wrecker as well as to the rear. The. boom 3 may be. any A-type boom having two separate and distinct. hoist lines operated by separate power winches. or it. m y av a S hoise line.

From the above it is apparent that IV have devised an auxiliary framev which. when in. P

supports the peak of the. boom upon, the ground and takes the great proportion of the load ofi of the wreckingtruck entirely, thus preventing its tilting backwardly. Itis also apparent that due. to. my hoist arran ement. with the mechanic l a vantage gained thereby, I" can. li t a much greater load than is permissible with a given winch and a direct line. to. the. load.

It is to be understood that. modification may be made in my invention without departing from the spirit thereof, and I do not intend to. limit myself otherwise, than as pointed. out in the claims which follow.

I claim:

1. In combination with the body of an automobile vehicle of the wrecker type havin a boom the peak of which extends. beyond the bodygan auxiliary support for the peak of the boom comprising a frame the peak of which is attached to the peak of the boom and the base of which is supported on the ground when in operative position, a block and tackle hoist having one block attached to the frame and the other block adapted to be attached to a load, the line of the tackle running to a winch on the body of the vehicle, so that in raising the load at least a portion of-the weight of the same will be borne by the frame, and spacing bars attached to the frame and blocking the tendency of the load to ride against the frame.

2. In combination with the body of an automobile vehicle of the wrecker type having a boom the peak of which extends beyond the body, an auxiliary support for the peak of the boom comprising a frame the peak of which is attached to the peak of the boom and the base of which is supported on the ground when in operative position, a block and tackle hoist having one block attached to the frame and the other block adapted to be attached to a load, the line of the tackle running to a winchon the body of the vehicle, so that in raising the load at least a portion of the weight of the same will be borne by the frame, and spacing bars attached to the frame and blocking the tendency of the load to ride against the frame, said spacing bars being adjustable on and removable from the frame.

3. In combination with the body of an automotive vehicle of the wrecker type having an A-boom pivotally mounted at the front of the body, the peak of which extends up at an angle at the rear of the body, an auxiliary support for the peak of the A-boom comprising an A-frame provided with means for demountably supporting the same at the rear of the body, and said auxiling use.

4. In combination with the body of an automobile vehicle of the wrecker type having a boom the peak of which extends beyond the body, an auxiliary support for the peak of the boom comprising a frame the peak of which is attached to the peak of the boom and the base of which is supported on the ground when in operative position, a block and tackle hoist consisting of a sheave mounted on the peak of the boom, a sheave having a hook adapted to be attached to either the load or the frame, a second sheave attached to the frame near its peak and a hook adapted 'to be attached to the load or the frame and a tackle line running from a winch on the body over the above enumerated sheaves and fastened to the last mentioned hook, so the mechanical advantage of the hoist may be changed by either fastening one or both hooks to the load.

ARTHUR F. HEINSS.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,341,176 Jones et al. May 25, 1920 1,523,972 Johnson Jan. 20, 1925 1,725,952 Beebe Aug. 27, 1929 1,790,692 Allen Feb. 3, 1931 1,886,681 'Hubbard Nov. 8, 1932 1,985,285 Erdahl Dec. 25, 1934 2,321,549 Holmes June 8, 1943 

